Why some vintage pens are so pristine….

Once in a while you run across a vintage pen that is pristine. I mean the pen is gorgeous, clean, crisp, no brassing, in the box, just as perfect as the day that it was shipped from the factory. How in the world did it stay that way?

Robyn and I have a theory. We of course make allowances for things like the pen being NOS, from a store that closed with stock that wasn’t sold. It happens. But sometimes the pen has a name on it, or a note with the pen that says “from Madge to Pete with love,” or something like it.

Then you put ink in the pen after restoring it, and put the nib to paper. YUCK! The thing scratches, it blobs, it (as one client so colorfully put it) writes like a chicken foot. It’s awful!!

That’s why it lasted so long. Someone in the nib department was having a bad day, and the thing was a terrible writer! It was tested (Thank you dear, it’s lovely!) and then put in drawer. (I’ll save it for special occasions, it’s too nice to carry every day).

The theory was proven yet again with a pen that I just received with an extra fine nib. Some patient reshaping of the nib, smoothing, and all that and I have a great new pen. But why didn’t the original owner say something? Isn’t that what a warranty is for?

Any one else have a story to support our theory?

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on Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 9:38 am and is filed under Pen repair.
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One Response to “Why some vintage pens are so pristine….”

I have found that the ones I enjoy writing most are beat up, missing cap lips, imprints worn off, brass clips and sometime all of the above. I have two Sheaffer Jade Seniors that I found within a few weeks of each other both in terrible condition…except for the nibs. One has a missing nib ball the other has very well worn plating and spiral cracks emanating from the clip. It was good for solvent welding practice and now it’s one of my favorite writers.